The Great Triumvirate

The Great Triumvirate

The Great Triumvirate or Immortal Trio was a group of three US politicians who dominated politics during the first half of the 19th century. The Great Triumvirate included Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun. Each of these men represented the three most important sections of the United States. Henry Clay represented the Western settlers, Daniel Webster represented the Northern businessmen, and John C. Calhoun represented the Southern slaveholders.

Henry Clay was born on April 12, 1777, into a family of moderate wealth. His political career started in 1803 when he joined the Kentucky General Assembly. Voters liked his Jeffersonian view of America and pursuing the liberation of the constitution to instill more states rights. During his time on the Kentucky General Assembly, Clay was also an attorney and served for people like Aaron Burr. In 1811, Clay was elected to the House of Representatives where he would eventually become the Speaker of the House. Then, in 1824, Clay was appointed Secretary of State when John Quincy Adams was elected as President. 

Daniel Webster was born on January 18, 1782, into a family of 10 children where his father, Ebenezer Webster, was a farmer, tavern keeper, and veteran of the American Revolution. At an early age, Webster learned to read from his parents and older siblings. When Webster was 15, he went to Dartmouth College where he was exceptional at public speaking. After graduating he studied law and eventually opened up his practice. Eventually, Webster developed his ideas about the politics at the time, condemning Jeffersonian Administration as unconstitutional because of the Embargo Act. He was later elected to the House of Representatives during 1812 and re-elected in 1814 and 1816. During his time in the House, he took an extremely pro states view and was a strict constitutionalist 

John C. Calhoun was born on March 18, 1782, into an agricultural family. His father was a Scots-Irish farmer who had migrated with his mother from Pennsylvania to Carolina Piedmont. Calhoun went to Yale College and graduated with distinction. Afterward, he went to law school for a year but dropped out before ever taking the bar exam to marry his cousin Floride Bonneau Calhoun. Later, he would form strong ideals for the Jeffersonian Republic where the United States should go to war with Great Britain. Calhoun was elected in 1808 to South Carolina’s legislature, and in 1811 to The House of Representatives. There he would serve with Henry Clay as Clay’s lieutenant. Calhoun also helped charter the Second Bank of The United States, permanent road systems, a standing navy, and a modern navy. 

All together Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun actions in the Senate and House of Representatives brought attention to the main regional conflicts in American politics. They each stood for one region of the United States, but none every achieved Presidency of the United States. Through their Capitol Hill debates, they helped create the Compromise of 1850, meaning that the Great Triumvirate ultimately delayed the Civil War by providing a temporary solution to the main problem at the time, slavery.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Triumvirate

https://www.biography.com/political-figure/henry-clay

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Daniel-Webster

https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-C-Calhoun

https://www.thoughtco.com/the-great-triumvirate-1773351